Chubby Carrier marks 25 years of music making

Chubby Carrier remembers that fateful day back in the 1980s. Carrier, then 17, told his father Roy he was going on the road to play zydeco. He would be the drummer in the band of another teen, Terrance Simien.

Although Chubby’s dad played accordion, just like Chubby’s grandfather, Roy couldn’t fathom the idea of a band traveling the country playing zydeco.

“I remember him telling me, ‘What them people know about zydeco on the road?’” said Carrier, now 46. “I said ‘Not much, but that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to introduce them to zydeco.’

“We struggled because there was only blues clubs and blues festivals. There wasn’t zydeco festivals and zydeco clubs. Our agent said he had a hard time getting us in the blues circuit.

“I said, ‘Just get us in.’ We took some lowball money just to get in. A lot of time we showed up, people didn’t know what it was. But the second time, it was standing room only.”

After three years with Simien, Carrier started his Bayou Swamp Band in 1989. This month, Carrier celebrates his band’s 25th anniversary.

Carrier and band have recorded 10 CDs and entertained legions of fans in all 50 states, along with tours of Canada, Europe and Africa. They became Grammy winners in 2011 for the CD, “Zydeco Junkie.”

Last summer, Carrier’s “Rockin’ With Roy” CD debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Blues Album chart. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne recently honored Carrier as a participant in the Louisiana Music Ambassador Program. The program pays a stipend to musicians who have been touring for at least three years and promoting Louisiana tourism at national and international events with audiences of at least 10,000.

Carrier said he is thrilled with his success, but the road has not been easy. Challenges have included months away from home, weather delays, travel hazards and more.

“In the beginning, the first challenge was just trying to get in,” said Carrier. “You go up there and say ‘zydeco’ and people don’t know how to pronounce it. That was the hardest thing in the first five years of my career, how to introduce zydeco.

“I had to convince people it was going to work in their blues clubs and festivals. I got turned down because people didn’t want to take a chance. But after they come out and hear me at a club, they thought it could work.

“The second challenge was getting signed by a record company. You get signed by these guys in Chicago and other places and they don’t know how to market you. They get these producers in and the music doesn’t sound like zydeco. That was before you could get your own record label.”

Since winning the Grammy, Carrier has landed more gigs at home, reducing his time on the road. He’s grown into a cultural advocate with a live “Zydeco A-Z” for school children.

He’s become an advocate for smoke-free bars and clubs. A performer in clubs since the age of 10, Carrier has felt the results of second-hand smoke, including the death of his father from lung cancer.

“We’re not out there telling people they shouldn’t be smoking. It’s not our right to do that. Our right is to speak about it and say this is my work environment.

“Just be considerate. Step outside and take a smoke outdoors, to protect that woman that’s working behind that bar and has three kids at home. She needs the money and she’s working for her children. She might not be around if she gets lung cancer or emphysema from working in second hand smoke.”

Herman Fuselier is food and culture editor for the Times of Acadiana and Daily Advertiser. Contact him at hfuselier@theadvertiser.com.